US aims to shift Ukraine support burden to EU and NATO allies
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the Trump administration’s intention not to deploy US troops to Ukraine, emphasizing a strategy of encouraging European allies to shoulder more responsibility for supporting Kyiv.
Hegseth’s statement on Tuesday follows US Presidential Envoy Keith Kellogg’s upcoming meeting with European officials at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) on Friday to discuss this plan.
“We will have frank discussions with our allies at the Ukraine contact group and NATO ministerial,” Hegseth told reporters during a German press conference.
“Neighboring countries should be the primary investors in collective and individual defense,” he stated, advocating for increased NATO defense spending exceeding 2% of GDP. “We believe this should be higher; the president has suggested 5%.”
Responding to a query about potential US troop deployment to Ukraine for weapons monitoring, the Pentagon chief firmly ruled out this possibility.
Russia’s UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, issued a warning on Monday that any foreign troops deployed to Ukraine without UN authorization would be considered legitimate military targets.
While expressing openness to negotiations, Moscow has firmly rejected temporary ceasefires, citing concerns that such pauses would enable Ukraine to regroup and rearm. According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, any resolution must be permanent and legally binding to tackle the conflict’s root causes.